Going to Chicago, need hotel advice

jazzy mary · July-11th-2005, 04:22 PM

I'll be in Chicago on business next week. What are the nicest hotels in the downtown area? The office I'll be going to is on Randolph Street. The folks there recommended the Fairmont--but is it the best?? This is business, so I'm not payin'!!

Anything going on in Chi next week or the week after (July 18-20 and July 25-? to be exact). Uli, any suggestions? Any other Chicagoans out there?

Chris D · July-11th-2005, 04:37 PM

The Fairmont is a posh spot indeed. You would have no complaints.

Other great hotels in the general location are the world famous Palmer House, a little longer in the tooth but a classic old-school hotel. It's been renovated recently, and it's gorgeous! The Hotel Monaco on Wabash got a fairly recent facelift and has a "now" Euro feel.

The Westin on Dearborn is very nice, pretty much your standard luxury hotel, but they do it well.

MRS · July-11th-2005, 04:45 PM

I like the Knickerbocker--used to be the Playboy Mansion, great bar/lobby.

Chris D · July-11th-2005, 04:48 PM

That's probably a tad toward the seedy side, Michael, for what JM's describing as her need for "the best."

Others on the short list would be the Park Hyatt, the Sofitel Water Tower (a French feel) and the Peninsula.

Check some of their Web sites, Mary. A lot of them give you a good feel for the places.

MRS · July-11th-2005, 04:59 PM

. . .anything but seedy, baby!

http://www.hotel-rates.com/us/illino...kerbocker.html

jazzy mary · July-11th-2005, 05:01 PM

I think I'm staying at the Peninsula. I like the old Playboy mansion idea though. Restaurants??

Chris D · July-11th-2005, 05:02 PM

My apologies! It's obviously been renovated since I was last there.

MRS · July-11th-2005, 05:05 PM

Blackbird on Randolph

Enforcer · July-11th-2005, 05:07 PM

I hear you can get a decent steak in certain parts...

Chris D · July-11th-2005, 05:13 PM

For Italian, jump in a cab and have them take you to Taylor Street. (!) Homey, not fancy. Other places get more hype, but for "fancy Italian," it's hard to beat 312 Chicago in the Hotel Allegro.

Morton's, as Larry cryptically alludes to, is the premier steakhouse in the world, if you ask me.

Aria on Columbus is a fashionable fusion place. Top buck, trendy crowd.

For French food, Everest is nice. It's 40 floors up in the Stock Exchange building on LaSalle.

Nick's Fishmarket on Clark is a bit of a cliche to recommend, but it's at the top of lists for a reason.

And, for a real slice of old Chicago, there's the classic Berghoff on Adams: German food done right.

Pete C · July-11th-2005, 05:15 PM

How about the Greek cheeseburger joint...

MRS · July-11th-2005, 05:17 PM

I had dinner with Jerry Davis (the umpire), his wife and all my track buddies at some steak house downtown after Breeders Cup Saturday at Arlington a couple years ago, I'll recall the name of the place soon enough--one of the greatest dinners ever, some of the stories were amazing.

Jazzzoline · July-11th-2005, 05:17 PM

Chicago isn't very far from Detroit...

MRS · July-11th-2005, 05:18 PM

Bah! It was The Saloon.

Chris D · July-11th-2005, 05:21 PM

That's the thing about Chicago. You can fall over and find a great restauraunt no one knows about.
Aria, btw, is IN the Fairmont Hotel. (Sez me to me: Duh!)

jazzy mary · July-11th-2005, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzzoline

Chicago isn't very far from Detroit...

Hey, you know what I said...no more flirting with Larry!! Don't tempt me, Jazzzoline!!

tippy · July-11th-2005, 05:35 PM

Starbuck's barrista goes cappuccino on customer.

It needs to happen more often.

Brian L · July-11th-2005, 05:37 PM

Mary,

I can't do better than others with the hotel suggestions, but I was wondering who's playing in town while you're here, and I found a couple interesting things just before or just after the dates you mention. For example, Hot House has Chuchito Valdes on the 16th and AACM flutist Nicole Mitchell on the 17th.

Within the dates you mention, though, you might be interested in Gary Burton at the Jazz Showcase 7/19-24. And Kurt Elling's at the Green Mill on the 20th.

Or, you might like Fred Lonberg-Holm's Valentine Trio, which is playing a free concert at the Museum of Contemporary Art at 5:30 pm on the 19th. Have you heard of him? He's a cellist that sometimes plays with Ken Vandermark. However, this band is a tribute to Fred Katz, who played with Chico Hamilton, and it should be fairly accessible.

You can do a more comprehensive search of the daily jazz listings -- and lots of other cultural offerings -- at www.metromix.com.

Incidentally, I learned that Fred Anderson will be performing with Harrison Bankhead and Hamid Drake on the 13th and 14th at the Velvet Lounge in shows that will be recorded for DVD release. You'll probably not be in town yet, Mary, but I hope to be there and suspect others from Speakeasy would like to be too.

Fred K · July-11th-2005, 06:46 PM

I've stayed at Hotel Allegro on W. Randolph and Hotel 17 on E. Wacker and was happy with both of them.

My favorite restaurant experience was at Frontera Grill for Mexican. I wanted to sample the more upscale Topolobampo, from the same chef/owner, but never made it.

Uli · July-11th-2005, 07:47 PM

Jazzy Mary hope to see you again this time. Not much to add at this time for restaurants and hotels. Certainly can recommend Morton's and the Frontera grill as well. Like Fred, checking out the more formal restaurant by the same owner at the same place has been on my to do list for a long time. I always end up at the casual Frontera grill. Will think about it a bit more.

will look up schedules for jazz suggestions. I am assuming that you are not staying over the weekend? The jazz at the terrace of the MCA suggestion is excellent and you can have a lite dinner provided by Wolfgang Puck (or a pique nique basket if you want to stretch out on the lawn) I am having a heavy jazz week this week (5 nites starting tomorrow) and don't know what I will be up to next week. I do want to check out a Tuesday nite on the west side located Hotti Biscotti soon. they are having Jim Baker with a trio for the first set at 8 and a group lead by Rempis including excellent young and upcoming vibes player Jason Adasievic(spelling an approximation) and two additional percussionists, I think for the 2nd set at 11. Let's stay in touch.

Jon Abbey · July-11th-2005, 07:59 PM

I'd love to go to Frontera Grill sometime, I've been using their habanero salsa for years.

Rob C · July-11th-2005, 08:31 PM

For what it's worth, the one time I went to Frontera I was hugely disappointed. The food was mediocre and the service was awful. This was after an hour wait at 5:30 on a Tuesday or Wednesday, no less.

I had a bidness lunch at Blackbird once, though, and it was pretty awesome.

I don't know the big restaurants in the Loop or River North areas too well, though, I mostly stick to the neighborhood joints, for which there are hundreds of excellent choices. But I've enjoyed Nacional 27, for one, and if money is really no object, go to Tru--hands down, the best meal I've ever had was at Tru.

bostontricky · July-11th-2005, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian L

Kurt Elling's at the Green Mill on the 20th

I would go to the Green Mill to hear Kenny G, just to get completely blotto on some Prohibition-era cocktail. What a work that joint is...

hornplayer · July-12th-2005, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

I think I'm staying at the Peninsula. I like the old Playboy mansion idea though. Restaurants??

The Knickerbocker was never the mansion... just "the" hotel. The Mansion was on Dearborn, and it was happenin' baby.....!

As for food, Chicago has everything, Mary. Just depends WHAT you want to eat.

frankiepop · July-12th-2005, 01:41 AM

the ovengrinder
http://food312.com/italian/menus/chi...r-co-menu.html

chicago style pizza....at its best
my favorite restaurant...i think nardo
was a fan.........dblcheck with her

steve(thelil) · July-12th-2005, 10:18 AM

This isn't relevant if you're going during the week for business or NOT concerned about $$$$. But it might be valuable for others reading this thread*

Chicago has a TON of hotel rooms that can fill up for business, but which frequently have vacancies on weekends. Which means that you can get a great deal on Priceline.

I know alot about Priceline and its hotels. I have a source of inside info I've studied. It tells me that you can get a NICE 4 star hotel room in the North Michigan Avenue area with a bid of $90 or $95. I've seen the Hyatt Regency (Nice hotel with a PERFECT location) go for much less, but not recently. A bid of $90 is likely to get you either the Regency, the Millenium Knickerbocker or the Intercontinental. They are tough on grades, so there is no chance of getting a dump when you bid for a 4 star hotel.

Remember though, if you get a room thru Priceline you can't cancel or change the reservation.

*as i periodically mention, I'm a fucking saint.

Chris D · July-12th-2005, 10:23 AM

Great advice, thelil.

Schaumann, what's with the cryptic MRS handle?

Enforcer · July-12th-2005, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris D

Schaumann, what's with the cryptic MRS handle?

It stands for, (Hey,)M(othe)R(fucker)S.

That Schaumann is a coy one. He'll slip you a mickey when you least expect it.

bluenoter · July-12th-2005, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris D

Schaumann, what's with the cryptic MRS handle?

I thought he'd finally married himself.

Jazzzoline · July-12th-2005, 10:36 AM

Fixed

Quote:

Originally Posted by jazzy mary

I'll be in Chicago on business next week. What are the nicest hotels in the downtown area? The office I'll be going to is on Randolph Street. The folks there recommended the Fairmont--but it doesn't seem expensive enough. This is business, so I'm not payin'!! I need them bastard company's clients to pay for my luxury life. If they need lawyers it's because they did something wrong. Pay the bill while I'm eating caviar, you f***in' stoopid!!

*trying to imitate Larry*